1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which may be inconspicuously and conveniently worn by a male or female person beneath regular clothing for receiving and storing urine discharged by the person. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disposable and wearable apparatus of the type described, which can be used by both male and female users who have urinary incontinence or urinary urgency while usual private access for voiding is not available, is simple to use, and is manually accessible for handling though modified side pockets of a pair of pants or other such conventional garment worn by the user.
2. Description of the Background Art
A great number of urinary receptacles for men and women suffering incontinence have been on the market for many years and a number of different approaches have been tested, including the basic diaper type products which include liquid-absorbing materials and are worn in contact with a person's genitals. There are various other known devices which are worn by a person beneath the normal clothing some of which include a liquid receptacle that collects urine discharged by the person and which may be subsequently disposed of or emptied for reuse, others of which may be extended over the male organ similar to a condom and which are elongate so that they can channel any discharged urine downwardly to an opening near the person's feet or to a receptacle secured to the person at a lower level, and some devices which may require the assistance of a medical professional such as a catheter. See, for example, the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,356,091, US Published Application Nos. 2008/0015528, 2011/0152802, 2012/0029452, 2013/0237964, 2013/0338617, 2014/0163498, and WO2006077351.
While each of these devices may serve the intended purposes, there are some drawbacks associated therewith. For example, most of the known devices are relatively bulky such that a user feels encumbered when wearing same and at least some part of the device projects away from the user's body, especially in the genital area, so that it becomes conspicuous to others that the person is wearing same, while the conventional apparatus tend to be inconvenient and conspicuous when accessing same for adjustment and the like. Also, some of these devices may remain attached to a person's urinary organ which may become uncomfortable and may lead to other problems such as urinary tract infections. With condom type urinary receptacles that are disposed over the male organ, there may be friction between the male organ and the condom including any adhesive associated therewith, such that inflammation and irritation of the male organ may occur. Further, it may become difficult to attach and detach the device to the male organ if it becomes necessary to use the device multiple times while it is being worn by the person for an extended period. Also, some traditional urinary receptacles such as catheters require the assistance of medical professionals, which makes use of same challenging.
Thus, a need still exists in the art for a wearable urinary receptacle, which may be inconspicuously and conveniently worn by a male or female person beneath regular clothing for receiving and storing urine discharged by the person, which may be used by essentially any person, which may be conveniently attached and detached to the person's urinary organ multiple times during an extended period of use, which is simple to use, and which may be conveniently and inconspicuously accessed for manipulation while being worn by a user.